Baby Zoe Grace quickly became the darling of the Enterprise crew. Data acted just as any other proud new father would, showing his new daughter off and bragging constantly about each new accomplishment she achieved. Tasha remained mostly in their quarters for the first few weeks after giving birth, where she received many visitors.

Soren soon settled into her new quarters, and quickly adjusted to life aboard the Enterprise. She and Reg were frequently seen together, and the rest of the crew came to view them as a new couple. It was Soren's first romantic involvement that she didn't have to keep hidden, and Reg, being very shy and awkward, hadn't had much experience with romance either.

"I think they're good for each other," Kestra remarked. "They're both relatively new to the world of romance, so they're learning together."

One day Deanna was walking past some vacant quarters when she heard Will call to her. "Imzadi!"

She turned to him, and he planted a passionate kiss on her lips. She was very glad to see him, as he had just recently led an away team to a planet called Nervala IV to retrieve some important scientific data that had been lost when a previous research team had been forced to abandon their post on the planet. The planet's atmosphere made transporting to and from the planet tricky at best, and Deanna had been very worried about his safety.

Will picked Deanna up and carried her into the vacant quarters, into the bedroom, and to the bed, where he began to shower her with kisses. Deanna, taken aback but delighted by his ardor, returned his advances with equal fervor, and they were soon making passionate love. Afterwards, Deanna took a short nap. Will was gone when she awoke. She tidied the empty bed and returned to the corridor, and was headed in the direction of her office when she saw Will walking in the opposite direction. His face lit up when he saw her.

"Deanna!" he cried joyfully, reaching to embrace her. "I'm so glad to see you again!"

"Genetically, he and I are indistiguishable," Will explained to Deanna. "And except for minor differences, our brain organization patterns are identical."

"But how did he come into existence?" Deanna asked.

"He materialized as the result of a transporter beam accident. When I was on Nervala IV eight years ago as part of a rescue mission, I was the last one to be beamed back aboard the Potemkin. The transporter officer tried to beam me up by splitting the transport beam, and part of it was reflected back to the planet, causing an exact replica of me to be materialized."

"So he's been all alone on Nervala IV for the past eight years, and no one ever had any idea that he was there?"

"That's correct."

"Oh, the poor, poor man...he must have just about died from loneliness..."

"Yes. Well." Will cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with the thought himself. "He's going to be with us for awhile. Might as well get used to it." Will smiled and held his arms out to his wife. "I missed you so much, Imzadi."

They began to hug and kiss, and Deanna felt the familiar hunger for her husband that she always felt after being apart from him. Soon they had shed their clothing and were on the bed and making passionate love. Afterwards, Will slept while Deanna was kept awake by tormenting thoughts.

After all, it's not really as if I cheated on Will, she told herself. When I made love with him, I really and truly thought that he was Will. On the other hand, Will would feel so terribly hurt if he ever found out what I did.

She thought of how upset she had become the time Will and Ro Laren had almost made love. How ironic that she herself was now guilty of the same thing Will had almost done. I don't deserve him, she thought with remorse.

Deanna was ordering valerian root tea when she noticed that there was a note in the fruit bowl. "Meet me in Transporter room three at nineteen hundred hours. It's important," the note said. In the transporter room was another note, which was tied with a pink flower and a bow. "It pulses unendingly all through the night. Seek out the crystal that powers our flight," said the second note. At the dilithium crystal chamber in main engineering, she found a third note. "What the future holds, no one can know. But forward we look and forward we go." In Ten Forward, she found a table with a vase and a gift-wrapped box, which she opened to find an etching.

"The Janara Falls," said Will's voice.

"It's lovely. Thank you," said Deanna.

"You don't know how many times I thought about you. About us," he continued. "For weeks after the evacuation, I kept thinking they'd find a way through the distortion field and come back for me. I even thought we'd meet on Risa like we'd planned. But days went by and nobody came. Then I realized why. They thought that I'd been killed in the beam out. Sometimes I'd look up into the sky and I'd think, if I tried hard enough, I could make you feel my presence. That if I could let you know that I was alive, maybe you'd wait for me."

"Will and I never did meet up on Risa," Deanna said. "He earned a promotion very quickly and chose to make his career a priority. We didn't see each other again until we were both posted to the Enterprise two years later. By that time I was engaged to another man, but it didn't work out. Soon afterwards, Will and I rekindled our romance and married. We have a four-year-old son named Ian. You see, the first time I saw you on board the Enterprise, I thought that you were him. I'm so very sorry."

"It's not fair." The man's face twisted with anguish as he put his head down on the table and sobbed. Deanna's heart was broken for him, but she couldn't think of a single thing to do.

The next away team sent to Nervala IV were successful in retrieving the data that had been lost eight years before. As the new Will found it too painful to remain aboard the Enterprise with Will and Deanna both there, Jean-Luc found him a posting on the U.S.S. Gandhi. Before he left, Will and Deanna visited his quarters to tell him good-bye.

"As I suppose that a lot of what I have should really belong to both of us, I thought that the least I could do is give you this," Will said, handing his trombone to the other man.

"Thanks," said the other Will.

"Good luck, Will," said Will.

"I thought I might actually go with our middle name," said the second Will.

"I guess we really are different, as I never really cared for that name," Will replied.

"Well, I sort of like it. I guess I'd better get going. May I kiss you good-bye, Deanna?"

"Yes, of course," Deanna told him.

He placed a light kiss on her cheek. "Take good care of her, Will."

Will linked arms with Deanna, and they returned to their own quarters.